One Crazy Summer

One Crazy Summer

The first in the series of the Gaither Sisters, One Crazy Summer written by Rita Williams Garcia follows the journey of three young sisters as they make their move from Brooklyn to Oakland to spend the summer with their mother. It’s the summer of 1968 and Delphine, Vonetta and Fern leave their father in Brooklyn to try and get to know their mother, a poet and a Black Panther supporter. Dreaming of sunny California and hoping to visit Disneyland, the three sisters are in for a rude awakening when they are forced to live in tight quarters and spend their days in a Black Panther summer camp. Most of the story centers around the uneasy relationship between the girls and their mother (and understanding their place in the midst of the Black Panther Movement) but after getting to know their mother through her poetry (sneakily), the tension begins to fade.

            Although this story revolves around the relationship between the mother and her daughters, it really focuses on the transformation of each character in relation to what is happening in society at the time. It’s 1968 and the Black Panther Movement is strong and powerful, although a scary place for children to grow up and be surrounded by, we really see each character of the sisters throughout the story. Being the oldest, Delphine tries to protect her sisters from the dangerous radical people who become involved in the movement. Watching them grow throughout the story and reading it from the perspective of a child, it’s  chilling but helps young readers gain an appreciation of other cultures and helps them understand who they are in the world, how they relate to one another and understand different cultures and histories.     

(images via pinterest)